Current Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards require that the front bumper of the vehicle be able to absorb a 5 mile per hour impact without damage to the vehicle panels and structural members. To accomplish this, the bumpers are mounted on energy absorbing devices which permit the bumpers to move longitudinally of the vehicle body under impact. The movement is on the order of 4 to 5 inches and provision must be made for accommodating this movement by spacing the bumper at least a distance from the body panels equal to the stroke of the bumper support mechanism. To close the gap between the bumper and body panels, an elastomeric sight shield is provided which substantially covers the gap between the bumper and body members except for the gap between the curved end portions of the bumper and the body side panels.
From an aesthetic viewpoint, it is desirable that the curved end portions of the bumper present a streamlined or flush appearance with the body side panels, i.e., the fender portions of the vehicle body. This was recognized by U.S. Pat. No. 2,062,328 issued Dec. 1, 1936 to W. L. Morrison for "Bumper Device for Automobiles." This patent discloses a construction and arrangement in which the curved end portions were connected to spaced ends of the fenders by vertical extensions or panels of the sight shield, the latter being a flexible member.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle body and bumper assembly designed to stroke inside the fender or body side panel, thereby displacing a flexible body panel and body molding, if present, on the panel exterior without creating vehicle damage.
It is a further object to provide four molding alternatives, i.e., a bowed molding, a hinged molding, a spring loaded molding and a flexible molding.